Colombo/New Delhi, Feb 7 (UNI) Even as Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris was in New Delhi to discuss the issue of fishermen with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, authorities in Jaffna on Monday auctioned 135 Indian fishing boats that were seized for illegally entering the Sri Lankan waters. The auction took place in Kankesanthurai (KKS), on the northern coast of the Jaffna Peninsula, near Point Pedro, the northernmost point in Sri Lanka. The Chairman of the Jaffna Fisheries Committee A. Annarasa told News 1st that Indian boats were auctioned for prices from Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 1.3 Million. “We auctioned 135 Indian boats today. We will continue to work with India, However, Indian fishermen cannot enter the Sea of Sri Lanka,” he said. A large number of Sri Lankan fishermen from Jaffna, Mullaithivu, Mannar, Puttlam, and Negombo had registered themselves to place bids at the auction to buy these boats. In a related development, Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said he would try to stop unlawful fishing activities by Indian fishermen in the Sri Lankan waters by any means possible. Making his remarks at the convention of Sri Lanka National Fisheries Federation, he said he would bring it to the notice of the Indian government that it should pay for the damages to the fisheries and maritime resources of Sri Lanka. Federation’s General Secretary Nelson Edirisinghe said the Minister stressed the need for a mechanism to stop the damage done by Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters. The Federation is a body comprising representatives of 1,500 fisheries organisations in the country. The developments come as EAM S Jaishankar held talks with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris in New Delhi, during which the two “Exchanged views on the fishermen issue and agreed that bilateral mechanisms should meet early”. India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, at last week’s media briefing had said the joint working group on fisheries, which is at the level of the fishery secretaries. and is held with the participation of all stakeholders, had held its fourth meeting virtually in December 2020. “As was mentioned, the 5th JWG is to be held and the dates for the same are being worked out,” he said. In December, the Sri Lankan Navy had detained 68 Indian fishermen and seized 21 trawlers off the Tamil Nadu coast, for allegedly poaching in Sri Lankan waters. On January 6, a Sri Lankan court had freed 12 Indian fishermen, while the remaining fishermen were released on January 25.
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